Childhood Memories
by chikahchik
Summary: Syaoran's forgotten memories keep resurfacing. Eriol.x.Syaoran


**NOTE: **Another little fic I wrote back in the day. Everyone's a little out of character, but it was the only way to make it work. READ AND REVIEW; please let me know what you think.**  
DISCLAIMER: **characters are not mine**  
WARNING: **shounen-ai, boy/boy, slash**  
PAIRING: **Hiiragizawa Eriol / Li Syaoran**  
SUMMARY: **Syaoran's forgotten memories keep resurfacing.

. . . . . .

**CHILDHOOD MEMORIES**

_Two little boys, no more than the age of three, stood under a cherry blossom tree. Both had a smile on their young faces, no doubt a trace from a previous laughing fit. Suddenly, the boy with messy, mahogany hair and chocolate irises extended his arm and took hold of his friend's hand._

_"Do you know what being in love is like?" he inquired seriously._

_His companion shrugged; ocean blue orbs locking gazes with coffee coloured lenses. "Never put much thought into it. Why?"_

_"Do you think we're in love?"_

_"I don't know. I've heard you can tell when kissing."_

_"Do you want to try?"_

_"Sure."_

_Each boy leaned towards the other and gently pressed their lips together._

. . .

Li Syaoran violently shook his head as one of his close friends; Kinomoto Sakura waved an impatient hand in front of him. He gave her a small smile and arched an eyebrow, giving her a questioning stare. The girl pursed her lips, her emerald green eyes narrowing in thought. They stared at each other down until their contest was interrupted by their other friend, Daidouji Tomoyo. She bounced up to them, excitement brightening up her eyes; her plum coloured hair billowing in the calm summer wind. Sakura gave the newcomer a cheerful smile as Syaoran tilted his head in greeting. Tomoyo sat down on the baby blue picnic blanket and clasped her hands together.

"I heard from Rika-chan and Chiharu-chan that there will be a new student joining our class tomorrow!" she shared happily.

"Really? Will it be a boy or a girl? And from where?" Sakura asked, unable to contain her enthusiasm.

"I heard it'll be a boy…from England. Don't you think that's great, Li-san?"

"I guess…" he replied, his tone distant.

"You're always off into another world, Syaoran-kun? Where do you go?" Sakura asked him curiously.

"To a far away time and place," Syaoran whispered and the eyes of his two companions widened in surprise and curiosity.

. . .

_The two male toddlers separated quickly, their faces much more crimson than a ripe red tomato, as numerous bright flashes surrounded them. Squealing ensued. A mix of "We are so totally framing this!" and "They are so innocently adorable!" filled the air. Once again, ice blue collided with coffee and suddenly, childlike giggles filled the air, drowning out the sounds of cooing teenage girls._

. . .

"Are you there again, Syaoran-kun?" Sakura shook her friend out of his reverie.

Syaoran scowled, but not because of the girl before him, but because he couldn't figure out why memories of his childhood kept resurfacing. "You could say that…yeah…"

"Well, I suggest you keep your foot grounded to reality because class is about to begin soon," Tomoyo told him calmly as the door to their classroom slid open.

Horuda-sensei, the current class advisor, cleared his throat to gain the attention of his students and motioned towards the young man standing in the doorway. "Class, I'd like you all to meet Hiiragizawa Eriol. He's just transferred from England."

The class murmured a greeting to the foreigner, who returned the hospitality with a kind smile. Syaoran, who found the scenery out the window beside him much more interesting, had quickly turned his head at the mention of the new student's name. It had sounded so familiar—he was fast becoming frustrated because he couldn't remember why he would recognize it. He looked at the boy and let out a surprised gasp. Syaoran watched the other boy's eyes roam around the classroom and was astounded to find that the deep blue orbs had widened at the sight of him.

. . .

_"I don't want you to go!" a sobbing boy choked out._

_The other boy, although much quieter than his companion, also had tears endlessly streaking his smooth, pale cheeks. "I don't want to leave you either. But we'll see each other again."_

_"Really?" the sniffling stopped._

_"I promise."_

. . .

Both boys smiled at each other sadly, with a glimmer of hope within their eyes. Each held onto the childlike belief that once promises were made, they were to be fulfilled, even if it took forever for it to happen.

Syaoran opened his eyes to the image of ocean blue irises scrutinizing him. He screamed in surprise and took in his surroundings. They were in the park.

"The girls were wondering if you'd fallen asleep and asked if I could check up on you…" his intruder had stated unsurely.

"Oh. Where did they go anyway?" Syaoran asked, sitting up from his laying position on the picnic blanket.

"Daidouji-san just wanted to take a couple of pictures of Sakura by the water fountain."

Syaoran smirked. "Ch', typical."

Syaoran looked at the boy next to him. Eriol had been in Japan for almost a month now; he had quickly become friends with Sakura and Tomoyo. But, in his own usual fashion, Syaoran acted indifferently. He neither considered Eriol his friend, nor did he consider the other as just an acquaintance. Eriol was something in between. Syaoran couldn't put his finger on it, but there was just something about his new classmate that he couldn't put a finger on.

. . .

_"When will I see him again, mother?" a mousy haired boy had asked his mother innocently as they watched the airplane containing his dear friend depart._

_The young child received no reply as he helplessly watched the plane slowly disappearing into the distance._

. . .

The teenage boy growled. Why were fragmented images of his childhood running through his head all the time? He thought he'd forgotten all about those—since they all _did_ occur when he was three years old. It was perfectly logical for him to know nothing about those occurrences, considering he's never had a reason to think about them for thirteen years. But here he was, remember everything to a T as if it had all happened yesterday.

"Sakura…do you still remember things from when you were younger?" he asked his friend the next day was they waited for classes to begin.

The girl wrinkled her nose. "Well…just the really important things that happened to me—but the most prominent memories I have all occurred after I was eight years old."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh you know…just that the memories I could easily recall all occurred after I was eight years old. Anything before that would just give me a headache because I would strain my brain trying to reminisce. I can't remember much of anything while I was a baby up until I was seven."

"Why not?"

"My guess is…that you're too young to remember things from before those times—it doesn't mean you forget them, they're probably still stored up in your head…but since there's really no point in you recalling it, it's not in the forefront of your mind. You know?"

"I guess that makes sense…" Syaoran said distractedly.

"What's with the questions?"

"Nothing…it's just, I keep seeing things from when I was three years old. Like, I keep seeing a friend of mine when I was at that age—but I don't remember his name. And that really bothers me. I don't even have to think about it—the memories just kind of _pop up_."

"So that's where you go when you're off into your little world…your childhood memories."

Syaoran sighed. But before he could say anything, Horuda-sensei entered the classroom and began with the day's lessons. The boy tuned out the lecture; he had already read over what was being explained to the class the night before, simply because he was bored, and he was trying to keep his mind from wandering to his ever persistent, supposedly long forgotten memories.

That evening, Syaoran lay on his bed, looking over photo albums of his childhood. He wanted to find a picture of the boy in his memories, but disappointingly, he could find none. Just then, he remembered that he kept an old shoebox full of memorabilia he had acquired over the years.

The teenager turned over and hung half his body off his king-sized bed. He searched the dark space under his bed and found what he was looking for. The box was dusty and aged; it was obvious that it hasn't been touched in a couple of years. Syaoran blew the thick dust that covered the lid and slowly lifted it off the body.

He smiled at what he saw: his old chestnut coloured teddy bear, given to him by his sisters on his fifth birthday; letters exchanged between him, Sakura and Tomoyo when he returned to Hong Kong two years prior; letters sent by Meilin after he moved back to Japan; and pictures of him as he was growing up. Aha! Just what he was looking for. Syaoran rummaged through the pictures and finally found it: his three year old self stuck in an innocent lip-lock with another boy his age.

This caused the Chinese boy to frown. He distinctly remembered that there were more pictures taken during that time—how come he only had one? He knew that each of his sisters had one…but they had taken six copies. He had four sisters, so there should still be two left—unless the sixth one was sent to his friend…

Syaoran shook his head. Of course, that made sense. One would've been sent out to the other subject in the picture—but that still doesn't help him to figure out who the other boy was…and why Eriol felt very familiar to him. He turned the picture over and what he read made him gasp. Written on the back of the photograph was:

_"Xiao-Lang,_

_You two were so cute here! As usual, you two, with your childlike curiosity: wanting to know if you were in love…by sharing a kiss, no less. Well, we'll tell you now: you two _were_ in love—even at such a young age. Don't ever forget this part of you! And when you and Eriol are older, we promise you that you and he will share many more kisses much sweeter than this one to solidify the love you each feel._

_Xoxo,_

_Your loving sisters."_

Syaoran read and re-read each word carefully several times, letting it all sink in. _Eriol_? It couldn't be! It was probably just coincidence. There are many more boys with that name—aren't there? The boy fell back on his bed, way more troubled now than he was before. He had to settle this!

The teenager snagged the cordless phone off its cradle from his bedside table and dialed a familiar long distance number. He sighed nervously as he listened to the ringing. _One…two…three…_

"Hello?" a familiar voice on the other line greeted. "House of Li, what can I do for you?"

"Sheifa?" Syaoran could hardly keep his voice calm and steady.

"Xiao-Lang! How are you, little brother?" the voice perked up.

"Just fine. Great. Everything's all good here. Um…I was just wondering one thing…"

"Oh? What is it?"

"Well…I was just looking over old photographs, and I found one with me as a child, kissing another boy."

"OH! That picture was so adorable, no doubt about it! We all have one, even Eriol! I wonder whatever happened to him…he returned to England not long after that picture was taken. Both of you were so torn up over it."

_England?_ Syaoran gulped, and just for good measure and definite assurance, he asked, "Does his last name happen to be Hiiragizawa?"

"Oh my gosh, yes! I didn't think you'd remember him at all…you were so young when the two of you separated and we haven't seen him since he left."

"Well…some memories are just hard to forget, I guess." Syaoran's head was spinning. He began to wonder if Eriol also remembered the things that had happened between them when they were younger.

"Yeah. Well, I'll tell you one thing I remember so clearly about the two of you: what you felt for each other was clear and obvious. The emotions you two had for each other were so strong and real, it was heartbreaking! And, oh! Don't even get me started on the day he left. You two were holding onto each other so tightly that it was really difficult to pry you guys apart!"

Syaoran chuckled, but he knew that it came out sounding fake and forced. "We were that close, huh?"

"Xiao-Lang, you two were undoubtedly in love! At first, we all thought that the two of you were just attached to each other, since you guys always played together—but after we saw your display the day he was leaving; our hearts ached for the both of you. Everyone realized then and there that the two of you meant more to each other than just childhood friends."

"So what was up with that note you guys wrote on the back of the picture?"

"We gave that picture to you on your fifth birthday, along with the teddy bear? Don't you remember? We didn't give it to you the year we took it because you were a bit too young to handle it—but we figured, five years old was old enough. We sent Eriol's picture to him on his fifth birthday too."

"I just recalled getting the teddy bear…"

"Well, that figures. You weren't really focused on reading any of the birthday cards."

Syaoran peeked into his shoebox of memories and found many birthday cards from his family members. "Oh…I guess you're right."

"Did you want to talk to mother or anyone else?"

"Huh? No, no, not tonight. I was just wondering about the picture and the boy—but since you were able to answer all my questions, I don't need anything else. Tell mother that I'll phone again during the weekend. Thanks, Sheifa."

"No problem, little brother! Oh, and Xiao-Lang?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope you and Eriol cross paths again one day. You two were so perfect. It would be such a waste to lose a love like the one you two shared."

"We were three! What makes you think we still feel the same?"

"You phoning here would indicate that you're still interested. You still feel for him, but just like many childhood memories, it's been locked up somewhere—just waiting to be released."

Syaoran smiled, even though his sister couldn't see him. "Guess you're right. Thanks again and I'll talk to you soon! Bye."

As usual, instead of feeling relaxed by the information presented to him, Syaoran's mind just went into more turmoil. Everything became clear; why Eriol felt familiar, why his childhood memories kept nagging him—_everything_! Now, the only question was: does Eriol know that they knew each other before? Better yet, does he know that he and Syaoran were—_are_—in love?

"You look more troubled than usual, Li-san…" Tomoyo greeted him the next day as she prepared her books for the day's lessons.

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm just thinking about a lot of things," Syaoran replied distractedly.

He hadn't been able to put his discussion with his sister in the back of his head. Everything she had told him was still fresh on his mind, and having to sit beside Eriol in class didn't help the storm raging within him. What should he do? He wanted to talk to the other boy about it, but if he did, the other boy would think him weird—and Syaoran definitely disliked being thought of as anything remotely unnatural.

"Hello, Li-san," Eriol greeted as he took his rightful place beside the Chinese boy.

Syaoran turned to face him. "Hey. Um…you can call me Syaoran if you'd like to…" he said unsurely.

Eriol blinked at him. "…Syaoran…you can call me Eriol." he smiled.

Tomoyo, who had been watching the whole exchange joined in. "I feel so left out now!" she pretended to be put out. "I'm the only one who's using formalities? You guys should call me Tomoyo and I'll call you by your names! It's only proper, since we're all friends, aren't we?"

The two boys shared a meaningful glance and grinned up at her. "Definitely!" they exclaimed in unison.

. . .

_"Do you think I'll see him again, Fuutie?" a tired child asked as he was being tucked into bed._

_"Do you believe you'll see him again, little brother?" was the gentle reply._

_The little boy thought for a moment before saying, "He promised that we would see each other again."_

_"So then that means that you will."_

_"But when?"_

_"When the two of you are ready to see each other again."_

_"Aren't we ready right now?"_

_"Just think of this separation as a test to see how strong you two feel about each other. If you pass, you'll see him again in no time. OK?"_

_The young child giggled. "OK!"_

. . .

Syaoran took a deep breath. What should he do now? It had been at least six months since Eriol had first come to Japan, and still, Syaoran couldn't find a way to confront the other boy about their childhood.

Syaoran released another deep breath and tilted his head to look up at the sky above him. The four of them were once again having a picnic in the park; and once again, his friends have disappeared. No matter, he was enjoying his relaxing spot under the shelter of the cherry blossom tree above him. Just then, a strong gust of wind blew some of the petals off the tree and a few landed on him. Syaoran heard distant giggling from somewhere to his left. He looked. It was Eriol.

"That looks adorably funny!" the other boy laughed.

Normally, this comment would've elicited a growl from the Chinese boy if it had been uttered by anybody else. But, since the day he had allowed Eriol call him by his given name and vice versa, the two had been getting to know each other well enough to not take offence in anything the other said.

Syaoran stood up and rolled his eyes. "Where are the girls?"

"I don't know. I lost them halfway around the walk in the park because I wasn't paying attention."

Syaoran smirked. "Well, come here then. It's not like I'd bite if you come any closer. Besides, it's ridiculous how we're yelling just to talk to each other."

Eriol laughed and Syaoran soon joined in. Following his command, Eriol joined him under the tree and they stood face to face, light smiles caressing their features. _Deja vú_ was the first thought that popped into Syaoran's head. Instinctively, he reached out to take Eriol's hand in his own, much like how he had done when they were still three years old. Syaoran closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he found Eriol staring at him with curiosity, but he didn't pull his hand away. This was a perfect time as any for Syaoran to do what he had to do; the setting was just like it was when they were younger—only, they were in a totally different country and in a public place this time, but it didn't matter. Everything just felt right.

"Do you know what it's like to be in love?" Syaoran asked seriously.

Eriol's eyes widened for a moment before he shrugged. Ocean blue orbs collided with chocolate irises. "Never put much thought into it. Why?"

The Chinese boy released the breath he hadn't known he was holding in and asked, "Do you think we're in love?"

The British boy's eyes brightened and he smiled. It was then that Syaoran realized that Eriol had known all along about their childhood; his memories had also returned in full force just as Syaoran's had. "I don't know. I've heard you can tell when kissing."

"Do you want to try?"

"Sure."

Timidly, each boy took a step towards each other and leaned in to gently press their lips together after thirteen long years, to share an innocently familiar, yet passionately new, kiss.

**END**


End file.
